DreamWeaver
Windows Users: Please scroll all the way down for a downloadable version!
The dream world is in peril and Aria the dreamweaver must voyage through the realms of emotion to restore balance within her own mind. Grapple and slash your way through a beautifully hand-crafted landscape in this short but powerful metroidvania about overcoming one's emotions.
We recommend playing the game with keyboard and mouse.
Notes for players
1. If you see any black boxes, please try reloading. If that doesn't work download the game instead. We're sorry!
2. If you ever get stuck, press R to restart the current room.
3. Try to collect all the Luna Moths and find all of Aria's backstory!
4. We welcome and seriously appreciate any and all feedback you guys have.
In-Game Character Profiles
Aria
Aria arose from the heart-wrenching cries of the most distressed child in the world. Endowed with remarkable strength, she became a beacon of hope, guiding the many through their darkest moments. Yet, the child held relentless emotions which led Aria to shut out overwhelming negativity, unwittingly creating a void exploited by 'Shame.' Now burdened by the child's despair and her own choices, Aria embarks on a redemptive quest, seeking healing and reconciliation guided by Noom.
Noom
Noom is a radiant orb and keeper of the dreamscape. Noom's primary role is to create and mentor Dreamweavers, ethereal guardians shaped with the essence of hope and resilience. With omniscient understanding, he tailors guidance for Dreamweavers to navigate each child's emotional landscape. Although his true origins remain a mystery, it is fabled he was constructed from the collective tears of countless children.
Envy
Born from the dreamscape's collective longing, Envy embodies unfulfilled desires. She especially feeds on the yearning of neglected children, thriving on the whispers of longing within dreamers' minds. Linked to Aria's origin, Envy draws strength from the abandoned child's yearning for love and security. Shaped by Aria's creation, it becomes a force fuelled by unmet emotional needs.
Paranoia
Paranoia emerges from the shadows of fear and mistrust within the dreamscape, born from the anxious whispers of children. It thrives on uncertainties and doubts lingering in young minds. Linked to Aria's origin, Paranoia draws strength from the abandoned child's pervasive sense of vulnerability and fear of abandonment. Aria's creation fuels Paranoia's birth, intertwining its essence with the child's apprehensions, casting a dark undercurrent within the dreamscape.
Shame
Shame embodies suppressed guilt and self-blame within the dreamscape. It draws strength from the collective weight of remorse felt by children. Before Shame became a never-ending void, she was known as a radiant angel, Hope. Aria wasn’t then yet created, and so the distressed child brought the attention of Hope. She abandoned her duties and remained with the child in the dreamscape, feeding them promises of hope and care. This child was abandoned however, leading Hope to locking herself forever in the dreamscape out of her shame.
The Lucid Tree
Nestled within the intricate tapestry of Aria's mind, The Lucid Tree serves as a mystical nexus to her emotions. Originating from the essence of her thoughts and feelings, it emerged as a manifestation of her mental centre, anchoring her emotions as her abilities as a Dreamwalker began to awaken. However, corruption infiltrated the once-sacred tree, stemming from Aria's choice to suppress her emotions. As she shielded herself from vulnerability, the Lucid Tree absorbed the weight of her unexpressed fears and regrets.
Made with love by Team Hallowquest:
Adelle Thompson | ✍🏻 Narrative & Writing | https://www.clippings.me/adyscripts
Gavrik | 🖥️ Programming & Game Design | https://alexonthemoon.itch.io/
Fudge Fiddle | 🖥️ Programming & Game Design | https://fudgefiddle.itch.io/
Tha Chicken | 💡 Level Design & Game Design | https://apaquetteportfolio.wixsite.com/portfolio
Canvas | 🖌️ Character Art & Animations | https://flatwhitecanvas.itch.io/ | https://www.instagram.com/flatwhitecanvas
Ranarh | 🖌️ Environmental Art & User Interface | https://ranarh.artstation.com/albums/2464705
Yurigore | 🎹 Composition | https://www.yurigore.com/
Angela Hinz-Marica | 🎹 Sound Design | https://soundcloud.com/angela-hinz-marica/
Coinbirdface | 📒 Project Management | https://coinbirdface.itch.io/
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Comments
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I had some good fun playing, though initially I did run into an issue where enemies were invisible for some reason. Heard it might've been addresses, so I decided to play through it all today.
For one, I really love this games presentations! It truly feels like a complete project, and I'm shocked you guys only did this within a month or so. The art really is beautiful, and the sprites are also well done. Only issue I have is how dark everything is. I understand it fits the environment and overall vibe the darker side of dreams, but enemies were sometime hard to make out. Some objects were kinda hard to tell if they could be interacted with, which made some areas feel cluttered, also doesn't help Arias wearing mostly black. The music was really nice, def fit the overall aesthetic you were going for. Overall, it still looked great, just minor things.
Id say my biggest gripe was the controls, mostly using the grapple move. It might be a little too specific for my liking. Sometimes I swear I was hitting a bulb to grapple on, but it just didn't happen. This also lead to me falling a lot more than I would like to admit lol. Mid air grapples are kinda tough to get, but that might be a skill issue on my end. Level design sometimes felt a little odd as well, feel a wall jump would make it feel a bit better to platform. Sometimes I just miss a jump and then you just slowly fall down lol. Not
Shout outs to the final fight with Shame, was pretty fun and engaging. Thankfully, i had so much HP that she didn't immediately destroy me. Which was a p nice reward for exploring a bit.
I thought the Voice acting was a really nice touch, its not something you see very often in even full indie game releases. Still amazed at what yall managed to accomplish for a game jam! I mainly heard of this game through a friend who was on your team. Great work overall.
edit: i reposted this on the actual jam feedback because im new to this and didn't realize that's the proper spot for it :)
i LOVE the art in this, especially the backgrounds and character portraits!! super pretty especially the rose castle.
mechanically, i enjoyed the grapple, it was pretty intuitive and there were a handful of rooms that used it in interesting ways. the teleport mechanic was cool but felt like it needed maybe some levels that really focused on it. for combat, i quickly ended up relying on the projectile as it was just as powerful as melee and far safer. i didn't even try to melee the final boss. figuring out a way to encourage both more equally is probably the first place i'd start if i were to iterate on the game's design.
i liked the concept of the story as well, focusing on less obvious emotions works to the fairytale vibe's advantage. i would definitely be interested in seeing this expanded out more!
lastly, noom is very cute.
This is super cool! Really polished and professional looking. There was a funny moment while playing where I destroyed a bunch of spikes to make a jumping section safer, taking a little bit of damage in the process, only to clear the jump effortlessly without having needed to make it safer. After a few minutes I ran into a weird glitch that caused enemies and lanterns to be invisible, and I gave up shortly after that. I'll try reloading the page to see if it was just a one off thing. If I do manage to finish the game I'll offer some more feedback. From what I did get to try out, the grappling hook was my favorite mechanic.
Hey what's up? We seem to run into each other a lot haha. Thanks a lot for trying man, appreciate the feedback.
We fixed the invis issue, so please do try the game out when you get time!
BEAUTIFUL Artwork! It's got lore, it's got pretty art and pretty good game play. It would be nice to have a 'rebound' when hitting enemies. Other than that very solid mechanics.
For some reason I am unable to hear any music? the sfx and voice overs are working but no music:(
This is a solid 9/10.
Hey thanks so much for the feedback! Appreciate it and we've taken it into consideration. I'm sorry about the music issues. We do have a Windows download up now if you'd like to give it another go! We've also implemented a knockback on enemies.